Sign plate and method of making the same



May 4 1926. 1,583,410

C. l. E. MASTIN SIGN PLATE AND METHOD OF' MAKING THE SAME Filed July 5, 1923 EIL/4,

l WIM/88 I' INPE/won, WM I i: I Chimeslmusm,

` i E I: l, l I i Patented May 4, 1,926.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFElCE.

CHARLES I. E. MASTIN, OF MIDLAND PARK, JERSEY.

SIGN PLATE AND METHon .or MAKING THE SAME.

Application mea July 5,

, for instancethe signor signal device used lows by' railroad-crossing guards,- which at present are plain disks or sheets having the sign characters printed or painted thereon. The object of the invention is to provide a signplate which shall be practically imperishable and especially not likely to be damaged dueto rough handling in'use. The invention is shown applied to a sign-plate 'used by a railroad-crossing guard, but it may be applied, of course, to other signs.

In the drawing,

Fig. l is a front elevation, vpartly broken away, of the improved sign-plate;

Fig.2 is a substantially central horizontal section;

Fig. 3 is a Fig-2;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the fragmentary enlargement of I handle and Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5, Fig. 1.

To form a sign-plate which is light and yet'as strong and durable aspossibleit is the present practice to use 'a plate of metal, as sheet-metal, and coat it with a protecting covering of paint. If it is suiiciently light 'such' a plate may be easily bent ,and-becomes damaged in that way: also the paint sooner or later wears off or chips away, leaving the plate exposed and subject to corrosion and the letters or other sign-characters inpart or wholly obliterated. To produce a signplate lackingthese defects I proceed asfol- A reticulated-planiform core is provided by punching a stiff metal plate a. with numerous holes 7). Also there are provid-ed two thin sheets c of rubber of approximately the same area and. size as the plate an. -Raw rubber is4 preferred because then the/surfaces of the two sheets which adioin eachother willbe adhesive and the sheets will be in practically a state of cohesion when the Y sheets are pressed together, as in the process 1923. serieu-.1%. 649,436.

of vulcanizing, and because of its great toughness when vulcanized, especially when the vulcanizing treatment leaves it pliable so that it lacks brittleness and sowould, not fracture in iexing it.

These three, the plate and the-sheets, are i' then assembled so that the plate lies between the sheets and the edges of all three are in approximate registry with-each other, and in a suitable vulcanizing press they are then subieoted to pressure such that the portions of the sheets opposite the holes in the plate are by the pressure welded together, as at c', so that the two sheets become practically integral at each hole. An adhesive d maybe employed to insure union`where each sheet iis lopposed by the material of the platev between its holes. This obviously produces a very strong but light sign-plate, upon which the sign` characters may be placed in any way (the preferred way being' hereinafter explained). The tough plastic coating of vulcanized rubber is not adapted under ordinary rough,

handling to break or chip away. nor is the sign-plate easily bent because of the resistance oi'ered by the coating, and if' it should be bent the coating will not crack or craze.

Because the two plastic sheets are united at many places (as 0') throughout the area of the si gn-plate they vcannot warp away from plate a.

It is very desirable to provide a sign-,plate of this character with an edge-'fillet or bead which shall upstand from at least on faceV thereof to additionally reinforce it marginally and also so as to protect the sign-characters placed on the sign-plate against they i effects of rubbing the latter over anv surface and in which the edge ofplate a will be embedded. I therefore provide such a fillet e as an integral part of the rubber coating. This is molded on the sign-plate when the plate a, and two plastic sheets are subjected to the uniting pressure in the vulcanizing, as described, as by forming mating grooves in the pressure members of the press with Awhich the approximately` registering"l margins of the plate and sheets are made to coincide or register and by application of the pressure squeezing the material of the sheets to such an extent that outward of the margin of the plate the sheets areunited vby pressure and said material flows outwardly. radially in all directions. into the opposedi grooves and ultimately lling them.

A handle maybe provided in any way.

j n the preferred form this is com osed of a metal tube f which has a longitudmal slot g in one end, enlarged at g to accommodate t-he fillet e and `ay coating of vulcanized .rubber `k formed on the tube as a core; the coated tube is slipped over the edge of the sign-plate, as shown in Fig. 1, and then a bolt or other securing device i is passed through the parts to clamp them together.

The sign-characters .may be painted or otherwise placed on the sign-plate, but I prefer to form them from rawprubber, as by providing suitable pieces of this material and placing them in the vulcanizing `press with the arts c a c so' that when the vulcanizing is one, underpressure, they will adhere to and become substantially integral.

, with one or both of the sheets c, according as one ortwo setsof-the pieces are used for one orboth` faces of the finished product. Sign- I characters so formed cannot be obliterated .covering the two faces of the plate and hav# ing their adjoining surface portions adhesive and adheringo each other through the holes of the plate.

l Y 2. A sign-fplate consisting of a sti reticuf lated plate orming a'core and coating bodies of tough pliable plastic material preformed as sheets covering the two' faces o-f the plate and havingvthei'r adjoining surface portions.

adhesive and adhering to each other throughS the holes of the plate. l

3. A sign-plate Iconsisting of a stift' reticuulated plate forming a. core and coatingbodies of tough pliable vulcanized rubber preformed as sheets covering the two faces of the plate and having their adjoining surface portion adhesive and adhering to each other throu hthe holes ofthe plate.

.4. sign-plate consisting of a stiff reticulated plate forming a core and coating sheets of tough plastic material covering the two faces of the plate and adhered to each other through the holes of the plato, said sheets having their margins pressed into substantially'integral union with each other.

5. A sign-plate consisting ofva stiff reticulated plate forming a core and coating sheets of tough plastlc material covering the two faces of the plate and integrally united with each tether through the holes of the plate, said sheets having their margins' pressed into substantially integral 'union with each other and forming a fillet portion in which the edge of said plate -is embedded.

Q. A reinforced planiform body including a stiff plate and coating sheets of toug plastic material covering the two faces of the plate, said. sheets having their margins pressed into substantially integral union with each other and forming a fillet portion in which the edge of said plate is embedded.

7. A reinforced planiform body includpliable plastic m terial covering the two faces of the plat said sheets having their margins pressed into substantially integral ing a stiff plateand coating sheets of tough p union with each other and forming a fillet` portion in which the edge of said plate is enibedded. j

8.' In combination, witha sign-'plate comprising a^ stiff plate forming a core and a` coating of tough plastic material covering its two faces, .a handle secured to the signplateand consisting of a tubular core having a slot in oneend receiving the sign-' plate and acoating of tough plastic material covering the core.

In testimonywhereof Iaiix signature.

CHARLES I. E. MASTIN. v 

